Beamforming method and device therefor

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a method for performing beamforming by using circular array antenna comprising a plurality of antennas, and a device therefor, and to a method and a device therefor, the method comprising the steps of: determining the number of operating antennas for a specific beam pattern; selecting at least one antenna among the plurality of antennas by using the determined number of operating antennas; and transmitting a signal through the selected at least one antenna, wherein the step of determining the number of operating antennas determines the number of operating antennas by using the inverse number of the square of the vertical beam width of the specific beam pattern.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, morespecifically, relates to a method for beamforming using an array antennaand an apparatus therefor.

BACKGROUND ART

Due to the rapid development of mobile technology, the demand ofwireless data traffic has rapidly increased. As a technology capable ofhandling the demand, the array antenna has attracted significantattention in the wireless communication community. The array antennatechnology can minimize the impact of interference signals on thereceiving end by forming optimal beams in desired directions, therebyimproving the communication stability and capacity. However, to createoptimal beams in desired directions by using the array antenna, a methodfor controlling beam patterns is required.

The present invention is directed to a method for controlling beampatterns by using an array antenna and apparatus therefor.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Technical Task

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for performingbeamforming by using an array antenna and apparatus therefor.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method forcontrolling beam patterns by using an array antenna and apparatustherefor.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method forcontrolling beam widths by using a circular array antenna and apparatustherefor.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method forcontrolling beam widths by considering antenna coupling of an arrayantenna and apparatus therefor.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a methodfor determining operating antennas of a circular array antenna toachieve efficient beamforming and apparatus therefor.

Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide aprecoding method for controlling the beam widths formed by a circulararray antenna and apparatus therefor.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the objectsthat could be achieved with the present invention are not limited towhat has been particularly described hereinabove and the above and otherobjects that the present invention could achieve will be more clearlyunderstood from the following detailed description.

Technical Solution

In a first aspect of the present invention, provided herein is a methodfor performing beamforming by using a circular array antenna comprisinga plurality of antennas, the method comprising: determining a number ofoperating antennas for a specific beam pattern; selecting at least oneantenna from among the plurality of antennas by using the determinednumber of operating antennas; and transmitting a signal via the selectedat least one antenna, wherein determining the number of operatingantennas comprises determining the number of operating antennas by usinga reciprocal of a square of a vertical beam width of the specific beampattern.

In a second aspect of the present invention, provided herein is acommunication apparatus for performing beamforming, the communicationapparatus comprising: a circular array antenna comprising a plurality ofantennas; and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to:determine a number of operating antennas corresponding to a beam patternfor the beamforming; select as many antennas as the number of operatingantennas from among the plurality of antenna; transmit a signal via theselected antennas, wherein determining the number of operating antennascomprises determining the number of operating antennas by using areciprocal of a square of a vertical beam width of the beam pattern.

Preferably, determining the number of operating antennas furthercomprises determining the number of operating antennas by using areciprocal of a horizontal beam width of the beam pattern.

Preferably, the number of operating antennas is determined to be one ofdivisors of a number of the plurality of antennas included in thecircular array antenna.

Preferably, the selected antenna satisfies circular symmetry in thecircular array antenna.

Preferably, transmitting the signal comprises: precoding the signalbased on the number of operating antennas, a horizontal direction of thebeam pattern, a radius of the circular array antenna, and a wavelengthof the signal; and transmitting the precoded signal via the selectedantenna.

Preferably, when a spacing between the operating antennas is equal to ormore than a half of the wavelength of the signal, the signal is precodedusing the following equations:

z = G^(H)x $G = \begin{bmatrix}g_{1} & g_{2} & \cdots & g_{a}\end{bmatrix}$${g_{i} = e^{\frac{j\; 2\pi}{\lambda}R\mspace{14mu} {\cos {({\varphi_{0} - \frac{2\pi \; i}{a}})}}}},{1 \leq i \leq a}$

where x is the signal, z is the precoded signal, a is the number ofoperating antennas, λ is the wavelength of the signal, ϕ₀ is thehorizontal direction of the beam pattern, R is the radius of thecircular array antenna, and G^(H) is a complex conjugate transposematrix of G.

Preferably, when the spacing between the operating antennas is less thanthe half of the wavelength of the signal, precoding the signalcomprises: performing a Fourier transform on the signal; multiplying theFourier-transformed signal by a diagonal matrix; and performing theFourier transform on the signal multiplied by the diagonal matrix.

Preferably, the Fourier transform is performed by using an a×a FastFourier Transform (FFT) matrix, and wherein an element w_(uv) ^((a)) atthe u-th row and v-th column of the FFT matrix is given by the followingequation:

${w_{uv}^{(a)} = {\frac{1}{\sqrt{a}}e^{- \frac{j\; 2{\pi {({u - 1})}}{({v - 1})}}{a}}}},{1 \leq u \leq a},{1 \leq v \leq {a.}}$

Preferably, the diagonal matrix is given by the following equations:

diag(√{square root over (α)}[W ^((a))]⁻¹ c ^(T))

c=[c ₁ c ₂ . . . c _(α)]

where W^((a)) is the FFT matrix, T is a transpose operator, and diag( )is a function for generating a diagonal matrix by arranging elements ofa vector at diagonal positions of the diagonal matrix.

Preferably, when the spacing between the operating antennas is less thanthe half of the wavelength of the signal, the signal is precodedaccording to the following equations:

z = (C⁻¹G^(H))x $G = \begin{bmatrix}g_{1} & g_{2} & \cdots & g_{a}\end{bmatrix}$${g_{i} = e^{\frac{j\; 2\pi}{\lambda}R\mspace{14mu} {\cos {({\varphi_{0} - \frac{2\pi \; i}{a}})}}}},{1 \leq i \leq a}$$C = \begin{bmatrix}c_{1} & c_{2} & \ldots & c_{a} \\c_{a} & c_{1} & \ldots & c_{a - 1} \\\vdots & \vdots & \vdots & \vdots \\c_{2} & \ldots & c_{a} & c_{1}\end{bmatrix}$${c_{i} = {\frac{3}{2}\left( {\frac{\sin \mspace{14mu} d_{i}}{d_{i}} + \frac{\cos \mspace{14mu} d_{i}}{d_{i}^{2}} - \frac{\sin \mspace{14mu} d_{i}}{d_{i}^{3}}} \right)}},{d_{i} = {\frac{4\pi}{\lambda}R\; {\sin \left( \frac{i\; \pi}{a} \right)}}},{1 \leq i \leq a}$

where x is the signal, z is the precoded signal, a is the number ofoperating antennas, λ is the wavelength of the signal, ϕ₀ is thehorizontal direction of the beam pattern, G^(H) is a complex conjugatetranspose matrix of G, and C⁻¹ is an inverse matrix of C.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve efficientbeamforming by using an array antenna.

In addition, according to the present invention, beam patterns can beeffectively controlled by using an array antenna.

Moreover, according to the present invention, beam widths can beeffectively controlled by using a circular array antenna.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible toeffectively control beam widths by considering antenna coupling of anarray antenna.

Further, according to the present invention, operating antennas of acircular array antenna can be determined in an efficient manner.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible toeffectively control the beam widths formed by a circular array antennathrough precoding.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the effectsthat can be achieved through the present invention are not limited towhat has been particularly described hereinabove and other advantages ofthe present invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention, illustrate embodiments of the inventionand together with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention.

FIG. 1 illustrates the directivity and beam width for a specific beampattern.

FIG. 2 illustrates a linear array antenna.

FIG. 3 illustrates a beam pattern when horizontal beamforming isperformed by using a linear array antenna.

FIG. 4 illustrates a beam pattern when vertical beamforming is performedby using a linear array antenna.

FIG. 5 illustrates a circular array antenna.

FIG. 6 illustrates a beam pattern when beamforming is performed by usinga circular array antenna.

FIG. 7 illustrates vertical and horizontal beam widths in accordancewith the number of antennas.

FIG. 8 illustrates a circular array antenna to which the presentinvention is applicable.

FIG. 9 illustrates antenna structures according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of the beamforming method according topresent invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates a communication apparatus to which the presentinvention is applicable.

BEST MODE FOR INVENTION

In the present invention, a user equipment (UE) may be a fixed or mobileapparatus. Examples of the UE include various devices that transmit andreceive data and/or control information to and from a base station (BS).The UE may be referred to as a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a mobileterminal (MT), a user terminal (UT), a subscriber station (SS), awireless device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, ahandheld device, etc. In the present specification, the term “UE” may beinterchangeably used with the term “terminal”.

In addition, in the present invention, a BS generally refers to a fixedstation that performs communication with a UE and/or another BS, andexchanges various kinds of data and control information with the UE andanother BS. The BS may be referred to as an advanced base station (ABS),a node-B (NB), an evolved node-B (eNB), a base transceiver system (BTS),an access point (AP), a processing server (PS), etc. In the presentspecification, the term “BS” may be interchangeably used with the term“eNB”.

In the present invention, a node refers to a fixed point capable oftransmitting/receiving radio signals through communication with UEs.Various types of eNBs may be used as nodes irrespective of the termsthereof. For example, the node includes a BS, an NB, an eNB, a pico-celleNB (PeNB), a home eNB (HeNB), a relay, a repeater, etc. In addition,the node may not be an eNB. For example, the node may be a radio remotehead (RRH) or a radio remote unit (RRU). In general, the RRH or RRU hasa power level lower than that of the eNB. Since the RRH or RRU(hereinafter referred to as the RRH) is generally connected to the eNBthrough an ideal backhaul network (e.g., dedicated line such as anoptical cable), cooperative communication between the RRH and eNB can besmoothly performed compared to cooperative communication between eNBsconnected by a radio interface.

As a physical method for improving communication performance, use ofmultiple antennas has been researched. The antenna system where aplurality of antennas are arranged in a specific pattern is called anarray antenna or antenna array. In this case, the plurality of antennasmay be the same unit antennas. For example, the array antenna mayinclude dipole antennas as unit antennas.

The array antenna may be classified as a linear array antenna, acircular array antenna, etc. When a plurality of antennas are arrangedin a line at the same spacing, it may be referred to as a linear arrayantenna or linear antenna array. When a plurality of antennas arearranged in a circle at the same spacing, it may be referred to as acircular array antenna or circular antenna array. The array antenna isused to maximize the directivity of antennas. For example, it may beused to form the beam pattern for beamforming.

To indicate the performance of an array antenna, the directivity and 3dB beam width (simply, beam width) can be used. The directivity isdefined as the ratio of the electromagnetic power density radiated in aspecific direction to the antenna radiation power, and the 3 dB beamwidth is defined as the angle between points on a single plane, wherethe electromagnetic power density is reduced by 3 dB compared to thatradiated in the specific direction. In this specification, the 3 dB beamwidth can be simply referred to as the beam width. For example, the 3 dBbeam width on a plane perpendicular to the ground may be referred to asthe beam width in the horizontal direction, and more simply, as thehorizontal beam width. Accordingly, the beam pattern formed by the arrayantenna can be represented by the directivity, beam width (i.e.,horizontal beam width and/or vertical beam width).

In this specification, the terms “beam pattern” and “beamforming”indicate the same meaning and are simply referred to as the term “beam”.In addition, the beam width is referred to as that of the beam patternformed by beamforming.

FIG. 1 illustrates the directivity and 3 dB beam width of a specificbeam pattern. In FIG. 1, it is assumed that the specific beam pattern isformed along the x-axis direction and the beam pattern is formed suchthat the power density is widely distributed on the z-x plane and it isnarrowly distributed on the x-y plane. The beam pattern shown in FIG. 1is merely an example, and thus, although the beam pattern is formed inother directions, the directivity and beam width can be determined inthe same/similar manner. In addition, it is also assumed in FIG. 1 thatthe x-y plane is in parallel to the ground.

Referring to FIG. 1, since the electromagnetic power density isillustrated to be radiated in the x-axis direction, the directivity canbe denoted by D. In addition, the points where the power density isreduced by 3 dB compared to that radiated in the x-axis direction arerepresented by dotted lines on each of the z-x and x-y planes.Specifically, the angle between −3 dB points on the z-x plane is denotedby θ_(BW), and the angle between −3 dB points on the x-y plane isdenoted by ϕ_(BW). In FIG. 1, since the z-x plane is perpendicular tothe ground, θ_(BW) indicates the beam width in the vertical direction orthe vertical beam width. And, since the x-y plane is in parallel to theground, ϕ_(BW) indicates the beam width in the horizontal direction orthe horizontal beam width.

Hereinafter, the directivity and beam width (horizontal and/or verticalbeam width) of the beam patterns formed by using linear and circulararray antennas will be described in detail.

Beam Pattern of Linear Array Antenna

FIG. 2 illustrates a linear array antenna. In FIG. 2, it is assumed thatthe array antenna is composed of short-length lossless dipole antennas(for example, the length of the dipole antenna is much shorter than thewavelength of a transmitted wave (or signal)).

FIG. 2 shows the linear array antenna where M dipole antennas areuniformly arranged at the spacing of Δ on the x-axis. In this case, thelocations of the M dipole antennas can be represented in athree-dimensional coordinate system. For example, the locations offirst, mth, and Mth antennas may be represented by (Δ, 0, 0), (mΔ, 0,0), and (MΔ, 0, 0), respectively. That is, a random point in thethree-dimensional space can be represented by r, θ, φ, and in thethree-dimensional coordinate system, it may be represented by (r sin θcos φ, r sin θ sin φ, r cos φ). Assuming that the random point in thethree-dimensional space is far away from the antenna, the relationshipof r>>MΔ may be satisfied, and far-field approximation can also beapplied. The distance between the mth antenna and random point isexpressed as r_(m).

In FIG. 2, assuming that the currents flowing through the first to Mthdipole antennas are I₁, . . . , I_(M), the magnetic vector potential canbe expressed as shown in Equation 1.

$\begin{matrix}{{A\left( {r,\theta,\varphi} \right)} = {\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}{\frac{\mu_{o}{lI}_{m}}{4\pi \; r_{m}}e^{- {jkr}_{m}}\hat{z}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 1} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In Equation 1, μ_(o) is the magnetic permeability, l is the length ofthe dipole antenna, and k is the angular frequency, which is

$\frac{2\pi}{\lambda}.$

If the far-field approximation is applied to Equation 1, theapproximation shown in Equation 2 can be obtained.

r _(m) ≈r

e ^(−jkr) ^(m) =e ^(−jkr) e ^(jkr−r) ^(m) =e ^(−jkr) e^(jkr−|(r sin θ cos φ,r sin θ sin φ,r cos φ)−(mΔ,0,0)|) ≈e ^(−jkr) e^(jkmΔ sin θ cos φ)  [Equation 2]

Thus, when the far-field approximation is applied, the magnetic vectorpotential of Equation 1 can be approximated as shown in Equation 3 byusing Equation 2.

$\begin{matrix}{{A\left( {r,\theta,\varphi} \right)} \approx {\frac{e^{- {jkr}}}{r}{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}{\frac{\mu_{o}{lI}_{m}e^{{jkm}\; \Delta \; \sin \; {\theta \cos \varphi}}}{4\pi}\hat{z}}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 3} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

The electric field can be represented by using the magnetic vectorpotential

$\begin{matrix}{{E\left( {r,\theta,\varphi} \right)} = {\frac{1}{j\; {\omega\mu}_{0}\epsilon_{0}}{\nabla{\times {\nabla{\times A}}}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 4} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

When Equation 4 is substituted into Equation 3, it is possible toeliminate the equation for

$\frac{1}{r^{2}}\mspace{14mu} {and}\mspace{14mu} \frac{1}{r^{3}}$

which remains alter subtracting the equation reduced to

$\frac{1}{r}$

by applying the far-field approximation. In this case, the electricfield can be represented as shown in Equation 5.

$\begin{matrix}{{E\left( {r,\theta,\varphi} \right)} = {\frac{j\; \mu_{o}l\; \omega \; e^{- {jkr}}}{4\pi \; r}{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; {I_{m}e^{{jkm}\; {\Delta \sin \theta \cos \varphi}}\sin \; \theta \mspace{14mu} \hat{\theta}}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 5} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In Equation 5, if the value of r is fixed, the variables before thesummation operator become a constant, and the electric field can berepresented as shown in Equation 6. In Equation 6, C is

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{j\; \mu_{o}l\; \omega \; e^{- {jkr}}}{4\pi \; r}.} & \; \\{{E\left( {\theta,\varphi} \right)} = {C{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; {I_{m}e^{{jkm}\; {\Delta \sin \theta \cos \varphi}}\sin \; \theta \mspace{14mu} {\hat{\theta}.}}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 6} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

FIG. 3 illustrates the beam pattern obtained when horizontal beamformingis performed by using a linear array antenna. The horizontal beamformingmeans that beamforming is applied in the direction perpendicular to thatin which dipole antennas of the linear array antenna are arranged. Forexample, if the dipole antennas of the linear array antenna are arrangedin the x-axis direction, the horizontal beamforming may mean that thebeamforming is applied in the y-axis direction. Although FIG. 3 showsfive antennas for clarity, the invention is not limited thereto. Thesame/similar principle can be applied when there are M antennas.

FIG. 3 shows the beam pattern |E(θ, ϕ)|² that is formed in thehorizontal direction by using the linear array antenna composed of Mantennas. When the horizontal beamforming is performed, all currentinput values may be configured such that they are equal. For convenienceof description, the current input values may be configured as follow:I₁=I₂ . . . =I_(M)=1. When the wavelength of a transmitted wave (orsignal) is λ and the spacing between dipole antennas is Δ=λ/2, thevertical beam width (θ_(BW)) and the horizontal beam width (ϕ_(BW)) ofthe beam pattern |E(θ, ϕ)|² formed in the horizontal direction can becalculated as follows.

To calculate the vertical beam width (θ_(BW)), ϕ may be set to

$\frac{\pi}{2}.$

If

$\varphi = \frac{\pi}{2}$

is substituted into the beam pattern |E(θ, ϕ)|², the beam pattern can berepresented as shown in Equation 7.

$\begin{matrix}{{{E\left( {\theta,\frac{\pi}{2}} \right)}}^{2} = {{C{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; {\sin \; \theta}}}}^{2}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 7} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In the case of the horizontal beamforming, if

${\theta = \frac{\pi}{2}},$

it indicates the boresight direction. Thus, to calculate the verticalbeam width, it is necessary to find the points (i.e., −3 dB points)where the power density is reduced by half as compared to that in thecase of

$\theta = {\frac{\pi}{2}.}$

In other words, by finding the value of α that satisfies Equation 8, thevertical beam width can be represented as 2α.

$\begin{matrix}{{{E\left( {{\frac{\pi}{2} + \alpha},\frac{\pi}{2}} \right)}}^{2} = {\frac{1}{2}{{E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},\frac{\pi}{2}} \right)}}^{2}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 8} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

When the horizontal beamforming is performed using the linear arrayantenna, the vertical beam width can be calculated as

$\theta_{BW} = \frac{\pi}{2}$

because the equation of

$\alpha = {\pm \frac{\pi}{4}}$

is satisfied according to Equation 8.

To calculate the horizontal beam width (ϕ_(BW)), θ may be set to

$\frac{\pi}{2}.$

If

$\theta = \frac{\pi}{2}$

is substituted into the beam pattern |E(θ, ϕ)|², the beam pattern can berepresented as shown in Equation 9.

$\begin{matrix}{{{E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},\varphi} \right)}}^{2} = {{{C{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; e^{j\; \pi \; m\; \cos \; \varphi}}}}^{2} = {{{C}^{2}{\frac{\left( {e^{j\; {\pi {({M + 1})}}\cos \; \varphi} - e^{j\; {\pi \cos \varphi}}} \right)}{e^{j\; {\pi \cos \varphi}} - 1}}^{2}} = {{{C}^{2}\frac{2 - {2{\cos \left( {\pi \; M\; \cos \; \varphi} \right)}}}{2 - {2{\cos ({\pi cos\varphi})}}}} = {{C}^{2}\left( \frac{\sin \left( {\frac{M}{2}\pi \; \cos \; \varphi} \right)}{\sin \left( {\frac{\pi}{2}\cos \; \varphi} \right)} \right)^{2}}}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 9} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In the case of the horizontal beamforming, if

${\varphi = \frac{\pi}{2}},$

it indicates the boresight direction. Thus, to calculate the horizontalbeam width, it is necessary to find the points (i.e., −3 dB points)where the power density is reduced by half as compared to that in thecase of

$\varphi = {\frac{\pi}{2}.}$

In other words, by finding the value of α that satisfies Equation 10,the horizontal beam width can be represented as 2α.

$\begin{matrix}{{{E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},{\frac{\pi}{2} + \alpha}} \right)}}^{2} = {\frac{1}{2}{{E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},\frac{\pi}{2}} \right)}}^{2}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 10} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

Since the term on the left of Equation 10 can be calculated by Equation9 and the term on the right of Equation 10 can be calculated by Equation7, Equation 10 can be changed to Equation 11.

$\begin{matrix}{\left( \frac{\sin \left( {\frac{M}{2}\pi \; {\cos \left( {\frac{\pi}{2} + \alpha} \right)}} \right)}{\sin \left( {\frac{\pi}{2}{\cos \left( {\frac{\pi}{2} + \alpha} \right)}} \right)} \right)^{2} = {\frac{1}{2}M^{2}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 11} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

It is very difficult to find the value of α that satisfies Equation 11for a random natural number M. However, when the following substitutionis applied:

${\frac{M\; \pi}{2}{\cos \left( {\frac{\pi}{2} + \alpha} \right)}} = {{\frac{M\; \pi}{2}\sin \; \alpha} = \beta}$

and it is assumed that M has a large value and α has a very small value,Equation 11 can be changed to Equation 12.

$\begin{matrix}{\left( \frac{\sin \left( {\frac{M}{2}\pi \; {\cos \left( {\frac{\pi}{2} + \alpha} \right)}} \right)}{\sin \left( {\frac{\pi}{2}{\cos \left( {\frac{\pi}{2} + \alpha} \right)}} \right)} \right)^{2} = {\left( \frac{\sin \; \beta}{\sin \left( {\frac{\pi}{2}\sin \; \alpha} \right)} \right)^{2} \approx {\left( \frac{2}{\pi} \right)^{2}\left( \frac{\sin \; \beta}{\sin \; \alpha} \right)^{2}} \approx {\left( \frac{\sin \; \beta}{\beta} \right)^{2}M^{2}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 12} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

Equation 13 can be obtained from Equation 11 and Equation 12.

$\begin{matrix}{\left( \frac{\sin \; \beta}{\beta} \right)^{2} = \frac{1}{2}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 13} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

When β has the following value: β≈1.3916, Equation 13 can be satisfied.By substituting the corresponding β value into

${{\frac{M\; \pi}{2}{\cos \left( {\frac{\pi}{2} + \alpha} \right)}} = {{\frac{M\; \pi}{2}\sin \; \alpha} = \beta}},$

α is approximated as follows:

$\alpha \approx {\pm {\frac{0.8860}{M}.}}$

Therefore, when the horizontal beamforming is performed by using thelinear array antenna, the horizontal beam width can be obtained asfollows:

$\varphi_{BW} \approx {\frac{1.77}{M}.}$

In summary, when the horizontal beamforming is performed by using thelinear array antenna composed of M dipole antennas, the vertical beamwidth (θ_(BW)) of the beam pattern is given as follows:

${\theta_{BW} = \frac{\pi}{2}},$

and the horizontal beam width (ϕ_(BW)) of the beam pattern is given asfollows:

$\varphi_{BW} = {{\Theta \left( \frac{1}{M} \right)}.}$

Here,

$\Theta \left( \frac{1}{M} \right)$

means that as M increases, it decreases in proportion to the order of1/M, and it can be represented by k/M (where K is a random constant).

FIG. 4 illustrates the beam pattern obtained when vertical beamformingis performed by using a linear array antenna. The vertical beamformingmeans that beamforming is applied in the same direction as that in whichdipole antennas of the linear array antenna are arranged. For example,if the dipole antennas of the linear array antenna are arranged in thex-axis direction, the vertical beamforming may mean that the beamformingis applied in the x-axis direction. Although FIG. 4 shows five antennasfor clarity, the invention is not limited thereto. The same/similarprinciple can be applied when there are M antennas.

FIG. 4 shows the beam pattern |E(θ, ϕ)|² that is formed in the verticaldirection by using the linear array antenna composed of M antennas. Whenthe vertical beamforming is performed, current inputs may be configuredto have different phases such that the phases become equal to each otheralong the beamforming direction. Specifically, for the verticalbeamforming, the input current to the mth antenna may be configured asfollows: I_(m)=e^(−jkmΔ), 1≤m≤M. When the wavelength of a transmittedwave (or signal) is λ and the spacing between dipole antennas is Δ=λ/2,the vertical beam width (θ_(BW)) and the horizontal beam width (ϕ_(BW))of the beam pattern |E(θ, ϕ)|² formed in the vertical direction can becalculated as follows.

To calculate the vertical beam width (θ_(BW)), ϕ may be set to 0. If ϕ=0is substituted into the beam pattern ∛E(θ, ϕ)|², the beam pattern can berepresented as shown in Equation 14.

$\begin{matrix}{{{E\left( {\theta,0} \right)}}^{2} = {{{C{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}{e^{{{jkm}\; \Delta \; {si}\; n\; \theta} - {{jkm}\; \Delta}}\sin \; \theta}}}}^{2} = {{{C}^{2}{\frac{\left( {e^{j\; {\pi {({M + 1})}}{({{{si}\; n\; \theta} - 1})}} - e^{j\; {\pi {({{{si}\; n\; \theta} - 1})}}}} \right)}{e^{j\; {\pi {({{{si}\; n\; \theta} - 1})}}} - 1}}^{2}\sin^{2}\theta} = {{{C}^{2}\frac{2 - {2{\cos \left( {\pi \; {M\left( {{\sin \; \theta} - 1} \right)}} \right)}}}{2 - {2{\cos \left( {\pi \left( {{\sin \; \theta} - 1} \right)} \right)}}}\sin^{2}\theta} = {{C}^{2}\left( \frac{\sin \left( {\frac{M}{2}{\pi \left( {{\sin \; \theta} - 1} \right)}} \right)}{\sin \left( {\frac{\pi}{2}\left( {{\sin \; \theta} - 1} \right)} \right)} \right)^{2}\sin^{2}\theta}}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 14} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In the case of the vertical beamforming, if

${\theta = \frac{\pi}{2}},$

it indicates the boresight direction. Thus, to calculate the verticalbeam width, it is necessary to find the points (i.e., −3 dB points)where the power density is reduced by half as compared to that in thecase of

$\theta = {\frac{\pi}{2}.}$

In other words, by finding the value of α that satisfies Equation 15,the vertical beam width can be represented as 2α.

$\begin{matrix}{{{E\left( {{\frac{\pi}{2} + \alpha},0} \right)}}^{2} + {\frac{1}{2}{{E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},0} \right)}}^{2}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 15} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

It is very difficult to find the value of α that satisfies Equation 15for a random natural number M. However, when the following substitutionis applied:

${\frac{M}{2}{\pi \left( {{\sin \left( {\frac{\pi}{2} + \alpha} \right)} - 1} \right)}} = {{\frac{M}{2}{\pi \left( {{\cos \; \alpha} - 1} \right)}} = \beta}$

and it is assumed that M has a large value and α has a very small value,the term on the left of the Equation 15 can be changed to Equation 16.

$\begin{matrix}{{{C}^{2}\left( \frac{\sin \left( {\frac{M}{2}{\pi \left( {{\sin \left( {\frac{\pi}{2} + \alpha} \right)} - 1} \right)}} \right)}{\sin \left( {\frac{\pi}{2}\left( {{\sin \left( {\frac{\pi}{2} + \alpha} \right)} - 1} \right)} \right)} \right)^{2}{\sin^{2}\left( {\frac{\pi}{2} + \alpha} \right)}} \approx {{C}^{2}\left( \frac{\sin \; \beta}{\sin \left( {\frac{\pi}{2}\left( {{\cos \; \alpha} - 1} \right)} \right)} \right)^{2}} \approx {{C}^{2}\left( \frac{\sin \; \beta}{\frac{\pi}{2}\left( {{\cos \; \alpha} - 1} \right)} \right)^{2}} \approx {{C}^{2}\left( \frac{\sin \; \beta}{\beta} \right)^{2}M^{2}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 16} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

Since the term on the right of Equation 15 can be calculated from thefirst or second term of Equation 14, Equation 15 can be changed toEquation 17.

$\begin{matrix}{\left( \frac{\sin \; \beta}{\beta} \right)^{2} \approx \frac{1}{2}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 17} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

When β has the following value: β≈1.3916, Equation 17 can be satisfied.By substituting the corresponding β value into

${\frac{M}{2}{\pi \left( {{\sin \left( {\frac{\pi}{2} + \alpha} \right)} - 1} \right)}} = {{\frac{M}{2}{\pi \left( {{\cos \; \alpha} - 1} \right)}} = \beta}$

and using the approximation equation of

${{\cos \; \alpha} \approx {1 - \frac{\alpha^{2}}{2}}},$

α is approximated as follows:

$\alpha \approx {\pm \sqrt{\frac{4\; \beta}{\pi \; M}}} \approx {\pm {\frac{1.33}{\sqrt{M}}.}}$

Therefore, when the vertical beamforming is performed by using thelinear array antenna, the vertical beam width can be obtained asfollows:

$\theta_{BW} \approx {\frac{2.66}{\sqrt{M}}.}$

To calculate the horizontal beam width (θ_(BW)), θ may be set to

$\frac{\pi}{2}.$

If

$\theta = \frac{\pi}{2}$

is substituted into the beam pattern |E(θ, ϕ)|², the beam pattern can berepresented as shown in Equation 18.

$\begin{matrix}{{{E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},\varphi} \right)}}^{2} = {{{C{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}e^{{{jkm}\; \Delta \; \cos \; \varphi} - {{jkm}\; \Delta}}}}}^{2} = {{{C}^{2}{\frac{\left( {e^{j\; {\pi {({M + 1})}}{({{\cos \; \varphi} - 1})}} - e^{j\; {\pi {({{\cos \; \varphi} - 1})}}}} \right)}{e^{j\; {\pi {({{\cos \; \varphi} - 1})}}} - 1}}^{2}} = {{{C}^{2}\frac{2 - {2\; {\cos \left( {\pi \; {M\left( {{\cos \; \varphi} - 1} \right)}} \right)}}}{2 - {2\; {\cos \left( {\pi \left( {{\cos \; \varphi} - 1} \right)} \right)}}}} = {{C}^{2}\left( \frac{\sin \left( {\frac{M}{2}{\pi \left( {{\cos \; \varphi} - 1} \right)}} \right)}{\sin \left( {\frac{\pi}{2}\left( {{\cos \; \varphi} - 1} \right)} \right)} \right)^{2}}}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 18} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In the case of the vertical beamforming, if ϕ=0, it indicates theboresight direction. Thus, to calculate the horizontal beam width, it isnecessary to find the points (i.e., −3 dB points) where the powerdensity is reduced by half as compared to that in the case of ϕ=0. Inother words, by finding the value of α that satisfies Equation 19, thehorizontal beam width can be represented as 2α.

$\begin{matrix}{{{E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},\alpha} \right)}}^{2} = {\frac{1}{2}{{E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},0} \right)}}^{2}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 19} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In Equation 19, if the following substitution is applied:

${\frac{M}{2}{\pi \left( {{\cos \; \alpha} - 1} \right)}} = \beta$

and it is assumed that α has a very small value, the left term ofEquation 19 may be deduced in the same way as Equation 16, and the rightterm of Equation 19 may be calculated by the first and second terms ofEquation 18. Thus, similar to Equation 15, Equation 19 can be identicalto Equation 17. That is, when β has the following value: β≈1.3916,Equation 17 can be satisfied. By substituting the corresponding β valueinto

${\frac{M}{2}{\pi \left( {{\cos \; \alpha} - 1} \right)}} = \beta$

and using the approximation equation of

${{\cos \; \alpha} \approx {1 - \frac{\alpha^{2}}{2}}},$

α is approximated as follows:

$\alpha \approx {\pm \sqrt{\frac{4\; \beta}{\pi \; M}}} \approx {\pm {\frac{1.33}{\sqrt{M}}.}}$

Therefore, when the vertical beamforming is performed by using thelinear array antenna, the horizontal beam width can be obtained asfollows:

$\varphi_{BW} \approx {\frac{2.66}{\sqrt{M}}.}$

In summary, when the vertical beamforming is performed by using thelinear array antenna composed of M dipole antennas, the vertical beamwidth (θ_(BW)) of the beam pattern is given as follows:

${\theta_{BW} = {\Theta \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{M}} \right)}},$

and the horizontal beam width (ϕ_(BW)) of the beam pattern is given asfollows:

${\theta_{BW} = {\Theta \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{M}} \right)}},$

Here,

$\Theta \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{M}} \right)$

means that as M increases, it decreases in proportion to the order of1/√{square root over (M)}, and it can be represented by k/√{square rootover (M)} (where K is a random constant).

Beam Pattern of Circular Array Antenna

FIG. 5 illustrates a circular array antenna. In FIG. 5, it is assumedthat the array antenna is composed of short-length lossless dipoleantennas (for example, the length of the dipole antenna is much shorterthan the wavelength of a transmitted wave (or signal)).

FIG. 5 shows the circular array antenna where M dipole antennas areuniformly arranged in the shape of a circle at the spacing of Δ on thex-y plane. In this case, the locations of the M dipole antennas can berepresented using a three-dimensional coordinate system. For example,the locations of first, mth, and Mth antennas may be represented by

${p_{1} = \left( {{R\; {\cos \left( \frac{2\pi}{M} \right)}},{R\; {\sin \left( \frac{2\pi}{M} \right)}},0} \right)},{p_{m} = \left( {{R\; {\cos \left( \frac{2\pi \; m}{M} \right)}},{R\; {\sin \left( \frac{2\pi \; m}{M} \right)}},0} \right)},$

and ρ_(M)=(R, 0, 0), respectively. That is, a random point inthree-dimensional space can be represented by (r sin θ cos ϕ, r sin θsin ϕ, r cos ϕ).

In the case of the circular array antenna, the equation that representsthe electric field can be deduced in a similar way to that of the lineararray antenna. The electric field formed by the circular array antennacan be deduced by Equation 20.

$\begin{matrix}{{{E\left( {\theta,\varphi} \right)} = {C{\sum_{m = 1}^{M}{I_{m}e^{{jkR}\; \sin \; {{\theta \cos}{({\varphi - \varphi_{m}})}}}\sin \; \theta \mspace{11mu} \hat{\theta}}}}},{\varphi_{m} = \frac{2\pi \; m}{M}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 20} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

FIG. 6 illustrates the beam pattern obtained when beamforming isperformed by using a circular array antenna. Although FIG. 6 shows fivedipole antennas for convenience of description, the present invention isnot limited thereto, and the same/similar principle can be applied whenthere are M antennas

FIG. 6 shows the beam pattern |E(θ, ϕ)|² that is formed by the circulararray antenna composed of M antennas. When beamforming is performed inthe direction of

$\left( {\theta,\varphi} \right) = \left( {\frac{\pi}{2},\varphi_{0}} \right)$

on the x-y plane, current inputs may be configured to have differentphases such that the phases become equal to each other along thebeamforming direction. Specifically, to perform the beamforming in thedirection of

${\left( {\theta,\varphi} \right) = \left( {\frac{\pi}{2},\varphi_{0}} \right)},$

the input current to the mth antenna may be configured as follows:I_(m)=e^(−jkRcos(ϕ) ⁰ ^(−ϕ) ^(m) ⁾, 1≤m≤M. When the wavelength of atransmitted wave (or signal) is λ and the spacing between dipoleantennas is

${\Delta = {{2R\; {\sin \left( \frac{\pi}{M} \right)}} = {\lambda/2}}},$

the vertical beam width (θ_(BW)) and the horizontal beam width (ϕ_(BW))of the beam pattern |E(θ, ϕ)|² formed by the circular array antenna canbe calculated as follows. In the following description, it is assumedthat M has a very large value.

To calculate the vertical beam width (θ_(BW)), ϕ=ϕ₀ can be substitutedinto Equation 20. By doing so, it is possible to obtain Equation 21below.

$\begin{matrix}{{{E\left( {\theta,\varphi_{0}} \right)}}^{2} = {{C{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}{e^{{{jkR}\; \sin \; \theta \mspace{11mu} {\cos {({\varphi_{0} - \varphi_{m}})}}} - {{jkR}\; {\cos {({\varphi_{0} - \varphi_{m}})}}}}\sin \; \theta}}}}^{2}} \\{= {{C}^{2}{{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}e^{{jkR}\; {({{\sin \; \theta} - 1})}{\cos {({\varphi_{0} - \varphi_{m}})}}}}}^{2}\sin^{2}\theta}}\end{matrix}\quad$

The Jacobi-Anger expansion can be applied to Equation 21, and morespecifically, Equation 22 may be used. Details of the Jacobi-Angerexpansion could be found inhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobi%E2%80%93Anger_expansion, and thecorresponding contents are incorporated by reference in the presentspecification.

$\begin{matrix}{e^{{jz}\; \cos \; \theta} = {\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}{j^{n}{J_{n}(z)}e^{{jn}\; \theta}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 22} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

When z=kR (sin θ−1) and θ=ϕ₀−ϕ_(m) are substituted into Equation 22,Equation 22 can be changed to Equation 23.

$\begin{matrix}{\begin{matrix}{{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}e^{{jkR}\; {({{\sin \; \theta} - 1})}{\cos {({\varphi_{0} - \varphi_{m}})}}}} = {\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}{\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}{j^{n}J_{n}}}}} \\{\left( {{kR}\left( {{\sin \; \theta} - 1} \right)} \right)} \\{e^{{jn}{({\varphi_{0} - \varphi_{m}})}}} \\{= {\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}{j^{n}{J_{n}\left( {{kR}\left( {{\sin \; \theta} - 1} \right)} \right)}}}} \\{{e^{{jn}\; \varphi_{0}}{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}e^{{- {jn}}\; \varphi_{m}}}}}\end{matrix}\quad} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 23} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In Equation 23, Σ_(m=1) ^(M) e^(−jnϕm) can be expressed as shown inEquation 24.

$\begin{matrix}{{\begin{matrix}{{\sum_{m = 1}^{M}e^{{- {jn}}\; \varphi_{m}}} = {\sum_{m = 1}^{M}e^{{- \frac{j\; 2\pi \; n}{M}}m}}} \\{= \left\{ \begin{matrix}0 & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} n} \neq {Mk}} \\M & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} n} = {Mk}}\end{matrix} \right.}\end{matrix}\quad}{{where}\mspace{14mu} K\mspace{14mu} {is}\mspace{14mu} {an}\mspace{14mu} {integer}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 24} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

By using Equation 24, Equation 23 can be changed to Equation 25.

$\begin{matrix}{{\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}{j^{n}{J_{n}\left( {{kR}\left( {{\sin \; \theta} - 1} \right)} \right)}e^{{jn}\; \varphi_{0}}{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}e^{{- {jn}}\; \varphi_{m}}}}} = {M{\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}{j^{Mn}{J_{Mn}\left( {{kR}\left( {{\sin \; \theta} - 1} \right)} \right)}e^{{jMn}\; \varphi_{0}}}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 25} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

The Bessel function satisfies Equations 26 to 28. Details of the Besselfunction can be found in “G. N. Watson, A Treatise on the Theory ofBessel Functions, Cambridge University Press, 1995.” andhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessel_function, and the contents areincorporated by reference in the present specification.

$\begin{matrix}{{{J_{n}({nz})}} \leq {\frac{z^{n}e^{n\sqrt{1 - z^{2}}}}{\left( {1 + \sqrt{1 - z^{2}}} \right)^{n}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 26} \right\rbrack \\{{J_{- n}(x)} = {\left( {- 1} \right)^{n}{J_{n}(x)}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 27} \right\rbrack \\{{J_{0}({nz})} \approx {\sqrt{\frac{2}{\pi \; {nz}}}{\cos \left( {{nz} - \frac{\pi}{4}} \right)}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 28} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

According to Equation 26, the value of J_(n) (nz) exponentiallydecreases with respect to the value of n. Equation 26 is valid when theorder of n is negative. This is because Equation 27 is completed.According to Equation 28, J₀ (nz) decreases to

$\frac{1}{\sqrt{n}}.$

Next, approximation is applied. When θ is less than or more than π, thefollowing approximation can be established:

${{kR}\left( {{\sin \; \theta} - 1} \right)} < {\frac{2\pi}{\lambda} \times \frac{\lambda}{4{\sin \left( \frac{\pi}{M} \right)}} \times 2} \approx {M.}$

In other words, for all integer n (where n≠0), the value (or argument)of kR (sin θ−1) of the Bessel function of J_(Mn) (kR(sin θ−1)) is lessthan the value (or order) of Mn. In this case, it is possible toconsider only the case of n=0 without summation from n=−∞ to n=∞.

Based on this fact, the beam pattern of Equation 21 can be approximatedby Equation 29.

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{\left| {E\left( {\theta,\varphi_{0}} \right)} \right|^{2} =} & {\left| C \middle| {}_{2} \middle| {\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; e^{{{jkR}{({{\sin \; \theta} - 1})}}\mspace{14mu} {\cos {({\varphi_{0} - \varphi_{m}})}}}} \middle| {}_{2}\mspace{14mu} {\sin^{2}\mspace{14mu} \theta} \right.} \\{=} & {|C|^{2}} \\ & {\left| {M{\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}\; {j^{Mn}{J_{Mn}\left( {{kR}\left( {{\sin \; \theta} - 1} \right)} \right)}e^{{jMn}\; \varphi_{0}}}}} \right|^{2}} \\ & {{\sin^{2}\mspace{14mu} \theta}} \\{=} & {|C|^{2}} \\ & {\left| {M{\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}\; {j^{Mn}{J_{Mn}\left( {{kR}\left( {{\sin \; \theta} - 1} \right)} \right)}e^{{jMn}\; \varphi_{0}}}}} \right|^{2}} \\ & {{\sin^{2}\mspace{14mu} \theta}} \\{\approx} & {\left| C \middle| {}_{2} \middle| {{MJ}_{0}\left( {{kR}\left( {{\sin \; \theta} - 1} \right)} \right)} \middle| {}_{2}\mspace{14mu} {\sin^{2}\mspace{14mu} \theta} \right.}\end{matrix} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 29} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

Since it is assumed that beams are formed on the x-y plane, it isnecessary to find the points (i.e., −3 dB points) where the powerdensity is reduced by half as compared to that in the case of

$\theta = \frac{\pi}{2}$

in order to calculate the vertical beam width. In other words, byfinding the value of α that satisfies Equation 30, the vertical beamwidth can be represented as 2α.

$\begin{matrix}{\left| {E\left( {{\frac{\pi}{2} + \alpha},\varphi_{0}} \right)} \right|^{2} = \left. \frac{1}{2} \middle| {E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},\varphi_{0}} \right)} \right|^{2}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 30} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

By applying the approximation of Equation 29 to the left side ofEquation 30 and substituting the first term of Equation 29 into theright side of Equation 30, Equation 30 can be changed to Equation 31.

|J _(o)(kR(cos α−1))|² cos²α≈½  [Equation 31]

If it is assumed that M has a large value and a has a very small valuein Equation 31, it is possible to obtain the approximation shown inEquation 32 by using

$\begin{matrix}{{\Delta = {{2R\; {\sin \left( \frac{\pi}{M} \right)}} = {\lambda \text{/}2.}}}{{kR} = {{\frac{2\pi}{\lambda} \times \frac{\lambda}{4{\sin \left( \frac{\pi}{M} \right)}}} \approx \frac{M}{2}}}{{{\cos \; \alpha} - 1} \approx {- \frac{\alpha^{2}}{2}}}{{\cos \; \alpha} \approx 1}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 32} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

By using the approximation of Equation 32, Equation 31 can be changed toEquation 33.

$\begin{matrix}\left| {J_{0}\left( {\frac{M}{4}\alpha^{2}} \right)} \middle| {}_{2}{\approx \frac{1}{2}} \right. & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 33} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

The result of

${\frac{M}{4}\alpha^{2}} \approx 1.126$

can be obtained from Equation 33, and the vertical beam width of

$\theta_{BW} \approx \frac{21.2}{\sqrt{M}}$

can be obtained from the corresponding result.

Since it is assumed that the beamforming is performed on the x-y plane,θ may be set to

$\frac{\pi}{2}$

to calculate the horizontal beam width (ϕ_(BW)). Similar to the verticalbeam width, it is assumed that M has a very large value. When

$\theta = \frac{\pi}{2}$

is substituted, the beam pattern |E(θ, ϕ)|² can be represented as shownin Equation 34.

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{\left| {E\left( {\theta,\varphi} \right)} \right|^{2} = \left| {C{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; {e^{{{jkR}\; {\cos {({\varphi - \varphi_{m}})}}} - {{jkR}\; {\cos {({\varphi_{0} - \varphi_{m}})}}}}\sin \; \theta}}} \right|^{2}} \\{= \left| C \middle| {}_{2} \middle| {\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; e^{{- 2}{jkR}\; {\sin {(\frac{\varphi - \varphi_{0}}{2})}}{\sin {({\frac{\varphi + \varphi_{0}}{2} - \varphi_{m}})}}}} \middle| {}_{2}\mspace{14mu} {\sin^{2}\mspace{14mu} \theta} \right.}\end{matrix} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 34} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

The Jacobi-Anger expansion can be applied to Equation 34, and morespecifically, Equation 35 may be used. Details of the Jacobi-Angerexpansion could be found inhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobi%E2%80%93Anger_expansion, and thecorresponding contents are incorporated by reference in the presentspecification.

$\begin{matrix}{e^{{jz}\; \sin \; \theta} = {\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}\; {{J_{n}(z)}e^{{jn}\; \theta}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 35} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

By using Equation 35, Equation 36 can be obtained.

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; e^{{- 2}{jkR}\; {\sin {(\frac{\varphi - \varphi_{0}}{2})}}{\sin {({\frac{\varphi + \varphi_{0}}{2} - \varphi_{m}})}}}} = {M{\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}\; {{J_{Mn}\left( {{- 2}{kR}\; {\sin \left( \frac{\varphi - \varphi_{0}}{2} \right)}} \right)}e^{{jMn}{(\frac{\varphi + \varphi_{0}}{2})}}}}}} \\{{\approx {{MJ}_{0}\left( {{- 2}{kR}\; {\sin \left( \frac{\varphi - \varphi_{0}}{2} \right)}} \right)}}}\end{matrix} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 36} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

When beams are formed in the direction of ϕ=ϕ₀ on the x-y plane, it isnecessary to find the points (i.e., −3 dB points) where the powerdensity is reduced by half as compared to that in the case of ϕ=ϕ₀. Inother words, by finding the value of α that satisfies Equation 37, thehorizontal beam width can be represented as 2α.

$\begin{matrix}{\left| {E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},{\varphi_{0} + \alpha}} \right)} \right|^{2} = \left. \frac{1}{2} \middle| {E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},\varphi_{0}} \right)} \right|^{2}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 37} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

By applying the approximation of Equation 36 to the left side ofEquation 37 and substituting Equation 34 into the right side of Equation37, Equation 37 can be changed to Equation 38.

$\begin{matrix}{{J_{0}^{2}\left( {{- 2}{kR}\; {\sin \left( \frac{\alpha}{2} \right)}} \right)} \approx \frac{1}{2}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 38} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

By using

$\Delta = {{2R\; {\sin \left( \frac{\pi}{M} \right)}} = {\lambda \text{/}2}}$

and assuming that M has a large value and α has a very small value, theapproximation shown in Equation 39 can be achieved.

$\begin{matrix}{{{kR} = {{\frac{2\pi}{\lambda} \times \frac{\lambda}{4{\sin \left( \frac{\pi}{M} \right)}}} \approx \frac{M}{2}}}{{\sin \left( \frac{\alpha}{2} \right)} \approx \frac{\alpha}{2}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 39} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

By using the approximation of Equation 39, Equation 38 can be changed toEquation 40.

$\begin{matrix}{{J_{0}^{2}\left( \frac{M\; \alpha}{2} \right)} \approx \frac{1}{2}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 40} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

The result of

$\frac{M\; \alpha}{2} \approx 1.126$

can be obtained from Equation 40, and the horizontal beam width of

$\varphi_{BW} \approx \frac{4.5}{M}$

can be obtained from the corresponding result.

In summary, when the beamforming is performed by using the circulararray antenna composed of M dipole antennas, the vertical beam width(θ_(BW)) of the beam pattern is given as follows:

${\theta_{BW} = {\Theta \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{M}} \right)}},$

and the horizontal beam width (ϕ_(BW)) of the beam pattern is given asfollows:

$\varphi_{BW} = {{\Theta \left( \frac{1}{M} \right)}.}$

Here,

$\Theta \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{M}} \right)$

means that as M increases, it decreases in proportion to the order of1/√{square root over (M)}, and it can be represented by k/√{square rootover (M)} (where K is a random constant). In addition,

$\Theta \left( \frac{1}{M} \right)$

means that as M increases, it decreases in proportion to the order of1/M, and it can be represented by k/M (where K is a random constant).

Meanwhile, it is already known that each dipole antenna of an arrayantenna (e.g., linear or circular array antenna) has the directivity of3/2. Considering that the directivity of the array antenna composed of Mdipole antennas increases by m times, the directivity of the arrayantenna can be represented as 3/2^(M).

When the spacing between antennas is set to half of the wavelength of atransmitted wave (or signal) (i.e., Δ=λ/2), the vertical and horizontalbeam patterns of the linear array antenna and the beam pattern of thecircular array antenna can be summarized with respect to thedirectivity, vertical beam width, and horizontal beam width as shown inTable 1. In Table 1, M indicates the number of antennas.

TABLE 1 Linear Linear Circular arrangement arrangement arrangement (Δ =λ/2) (Δ = λ/2) (Δ = λ/2) Horizontal direction Vertical direction Planedirection Directivity $\frac{3}{2}M$ $\frac{3}{2}M$ $\frac{3}{2}M$θ_(BW) (rad) $\frac{\pi}{2}$$\Theta \mspace{11mu} \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{M}} \right)$$\Theta \mspace{11mu} \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{M}} \right)$ ϕ_(BW) (rad)$\Theta \mspace{11mu} \left( \frac{1}{M} \right)$$\Theta \mspace{11mu} \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{M}} \right)$$\Theta \mspace{11mu} \left( \frac{1}{M} \right)$

Referring to Table 1, in the case of the linear arrangement, themagnitude of the vertical beam width varies according to whether thebeamforming is performed in either the vertical or horizontal direction.In other words, it can be seen that in the linear arrangement, themagnitude of the vertical beam width depends on the beamformingdirection. On the contrary, in the case of the circular arrangement, themagnitude of the vertical beam width decreases in proportion to thereciprocal (1/√{square root over (M)}) of the square root of the numberof antennas (M). In other words, it can be seen that the same beampatterns are formed regardless of the beamforming direction.

Since the circular arrangement has a symmetric structure, it isadvantageous in that the same beam patterns are obtained regardless ofthe beamforming direction, but the circular arrangement requires a largearea compared to the linear arrangement. Therefore, the structure wherethe spacing between antennas is less than half of the wavelength of atransmitted wave (or signal) while the circular arrangement ismaintained can be considered. For example, the radius of the circulararray antenna may be adjusted such that the antenna spacing is less thanhalf of the wavelength.

However, when the antenna spacing is less than half of the wavelength,mutual coupling may occur between antennas. Since when the mutualantenna coupling occurs, the side lobe level of a radiation pattern mayincrease, the directivity may decrease even though the actual radiationpower increases. That is, when the mutual antenna coupling occurs, themaximum directivity cannot be achieved even though antenna input valuesare set to be equal to each other and phases are controlled. To solvethis problem, a method for controlling the mutual antenna coupling byinstalling a decoupling precoder in the antenna array may be considered.

Hereinafter, the beam pattern when coupling is considered and the beampattern when it is not considered are described on the assumption thatan antenna spacing is less than half of the wavelength of a transmittedwave (or signal). The case where the coupling is considered may meanthat decoupling precoders are applied, and the case where the couplingis considered may mean that no decoupling precoder is applied.

In addition, in the circular array antenna, as the radius decreases orthe number of antennas increases, the spacing between antennas maydecrease or the coupling may increase. On the contrary, as the radiusincreases or the number of antennas decreases, the spacing betweenantennas may increase or the coupling may decrease. Thus, fixing theradius of the circular array antenna includes a case where the antennaspacing is fixed due to a fixed number of antennas of the circular arrayantenna.

Moreover, if the circular array antenna has a sufficiently small radius,the spacing between operating antennas of the circular array antenna mayvary. For example, the spacing between the operating antennas may varyby activating/deactivating a specific number of antennas of the circulararray antenna. More specifically, considering that the spacing betweenthe operating antennas decreases as the number of activated antennasincreases (or the number of deactivated antennas decreases), this maycorrespond to the case where the radius of the circular array antennadecreases. As another example, considering that the spacing between theoperating antennas increases as the number of deactivated antennasincreases (or the number of activated antennas increases), this maycorrespond to the case where the radius of the circular array antennaincreases.

A Case in which the Coupling is not Considered without Fixing the Radiusof the Circular Array Antenna

When the radius of the circular array antenna is fixed, it can beassumed that the radius is sufficiently large. In this case, thevertical beam width can be calculated based on Equations 31 and 32.Assuming that there are a sufficiently large number of antennas, thenumber of antennas is M, and the radius of the array antenna is R,Equation 31 can be changed to Equation 41. As described above, k is theangular frequency set to

$\frac{2\pi}{\lambda}.$

$\begin{matrix}\left| {J_{0}\left( {\frac{\pi \; R}{\lambda}\alpha^{2}} \right)} \middle| {}_{2}{\approx \frac{1}{2}} \right. & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 41} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

Therefore, assuming that R is sufficiently large, the vertical beamwidth can be represented as

${\theta_{BW} = {\Theta \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{R}} \right)}},$

similar to the result of Equation 33.

Similarly, the horizontal beam width can be calculated based onEquations 38 and 39. Assuming that there are a sufficiently large numberof antennas, the number of antennas is M, and the radius of the arrayantenna is R, Equation 38 can be changed to Equation 42.

$\begin{matrix}{{J_{0}^{2}\left( {\frac{2\pi}{\lambda}R\; {\sin \left( \frac{\alpha}{2} \right)}} \right)} = \frac{1}{2}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 42} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

By applying Equation 39 to Equation 42 and assuming that R issufficiently large, the horizontal beam width can be represented as

${\varphi_{BW} = {\Theta \left( \frac{1}{R} \right)}},$

similar to the result of Equation 40.

A Case in which the Radius of the Circular Array Antenna is SufficientlySmall and the Coupling is not Considered

When the radius of the circular array antenna is sufficiently small,that is, when the radius has an infinite value close to zero, a phasedifference between antennas also becomes close to zero. Thus, when theradius of the circular array antenna is sufficiently small, it ispossible to consider that multiple dipole antennas radiate the samecurrent at a single point. Consequently, the radiation pattern of themultiple dipole antenna becomes equal to that of a single dipoleantenna. Since the vertical beam width of the single dipole antenna isπ/2, θ_(BW) is

$\frac{\pi}{2}.$

In addition, the horizontal beam width of the single dipole antenna is2π, θ_(BW) is 2π.

A Case in which the Radius of the Circular Array Antenna is SufficientlySmall and the Coupling is Considered

When the radius of the circular array antenna is R, the electric filedcan be deduced as shown in Equation 20. By applying the Jacobi-Angerexpansion to Equation 20, it is possible to obtain Equation 43.

$\begin{matrix}{{C{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; {I_{m}e^{{jkR}\; \sin \; \theta \mspace{14mu} {\cos {({\varphi - \varphi_{m}})}}}\sin \; \theta}}} = {{C{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; {I_{m}{\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}{j^{n}{J_{n}\left( {{kR}\; \sin \; \theta} \right)}e^{{jn}{({\varphi - \varphi_{m}})}}\mspace{14mu} \sin \; \theta}}}}} = {C{\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}\; {j^{n}{J_{n}\left( {{kR}\; \sin \; \theta} \right)}e^{{jn}\; \varphi}\mspace{14mu} \sin \; \theta {\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; {I_{m}e^{{- {jn}}\; \varphi_{m}}}}}}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 43} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In Equation 43, by substituting u_(n)=Σ_(m=1) ^(M) I_(m)e^(−jnϕm), it ispossible to obtain u_(n)=u_(n+kM). Thus, Equation 43 can be changed toEquation 44.

$\begin{matrix}{{C{\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}\; {j^{n}{J_{n}\left( {{kR}\; \sin \; \theta} \right)}e^{{jn}\; \varphi}\mspace{14mu} \sin \; \theta {\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; {I_{m}e^{{- {jn}}\; \varphi_{m}}}}}}} = {{C{\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}\; {j^{n}{J_{n}\left( {{kR}\; \sin \; \theta} \right)}e^{{jn}\; \varphi}\mspace{14mu} \sin \; \theta \; u_{n}}}} = {C{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; {u_{m}{\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}\; {j^{{nM} + m}{J_{{nM} + m}\left( {{kR}\; \sin \; \theta} \right)}e^{{j{({{nM} + m})}}\varphi}\mspace{14mu} \sin \; \theta}}}}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 44} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

By using Equation 44, the radiation power can be calculated as shown inEquation 45.

$\begin{matrix}{P = {\left. {\int_{0}^{2\pi}\int_{0}^{\pi}} \middle| {E\left( {\theta,\varphi} \right)} \middle| {}_{2}\mspace{14mu} {\sin \mspace{14mu} \theta \mspace{14mu} d\; \theta \; d\; \varphi} \right. = \left. {2\pi} \middle| C \middle| {}_{2}{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; \left| u_{m} \middle| {}_{2}{\int_{0}^{\pi}{\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}\; {{J_{{nM} + m}^{2}\left( {{kR}\; \sin \; \theta} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \sin^{3}\mspace{14mu} \theta \mspace{14mu} d\; \theta}}} \right.} \right.}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 45} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

If there is limitation on the radiation power, u_(m), which can providethe maximum directivity in the direction of (θ, ϕ)=(θ₀, ϕ₀), can bedetermined according to Equation 46.

$\begin{matrix}{u_{m} = \frac{{\Sigma_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}\left( {- j} \right)}^{{nM} + m}{J_{{nM} + m}\left( {{kR}\; \sin \; \theta_{0}} \right)}e^{{- {j{({{nM} + m})}}}\varphi_{0}}\sin \; \theta_{0}}{\int_{0}^{\pi}{\Sigma_{s = {- \infty}}^{\infty}{J_{{nM} + m}^{2}\left( {{kR}\; \sin \; \theta} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \sin^{3}\mspace{14mu} \theta \mspace{14mu} d\; \theta}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 46} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

If the value of m is in the range of 1≤m≤M and the beamforming isperformed in a plane direction,

$\theta_{0} = \frac{\pi}{2}$

can be substituted into Equation 46.

Based on Equation 46, the vertical beam width (θ_(BW)) can be calculatedas follows. Assuming that ϕ=ϕ₀, the beam pattern can be represented asshown in Equation 47.

$\begin{matrix}{\left| {E\left( {\theta,\varphi_{0}} \right)} \right|^{2} = {\quad\left| {C{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; {\frac{{\Sigma_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}\left( {- j} \right)}^{{nM} + m}{J_{{nM} + m}\left( {{kR}\; \sin \; \theta} \right)}e^{{- {j{({{nM} + m})}}}\varphi_{0}}\sin \; \theta}{\int_{0}^{\pi}{\Sigma_{s = {- \infty}}^{\infty}{J_{{nM} + m}^{2}\left( {{kR}\; \sin \; \theta} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \sin^{3}\mspace{14mu} \theta \mspace{14mu} d\; \theta}}{\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}\; {j^{{nM} + m}{J_{{nM} + m}({kR})}e^{{j{({{nM} + m})}}\varphi_{0}}}}}}} \right|^{2}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 47} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

Next, the approximation shown in Equation 48 is applied. Details of theapproximation can be found inhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessel_function, and the correspondingcontents are incorporated as reference in the present specification.

$\begin{matrix}{{J_{\alpha}(x)} \approx {\frac{1}{\Gamma \left( {\alpha + 1} \right)}\left( \frac{x}{2} \right)^{\alpha}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 48} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

Equation 48 is satisfied when x has a sufficiently small value (that is,when the value of x is close to zero). Thus, by applying the limitoperation to Equation 47, lim_(R→O)|E(θ, ϕ₀)|² can be represented asshown in Equation 49.

$\begin{matrix}{{\lim\limits_{R\rightarrow\infty}\left| {E\left( {\theta,\varphi_{0}} \right)} \right|^{2}} = \left| C \middle| {}_{2}{\quad\left| {\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{\lbrack{M\text{/}2}\rbrack}\; \left\{ \left. {{\frac{2}{\sqrt{\pi}}\frac{\Gamma \left( {m + \frac{5}{2}} \right)}{\Gamma \left( {m + \frac{5}{2}} \right)}\sin^{n + 1}\mspace{14mu} \theta} + {\frac{3}{4}\sin \mspace{14mu} \theta}} \right|^{2} \right.} \right.} \right.} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 49} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

Since it is assumed that the beamforming is performed on the x-y plane,it is necessary to find the points (i.e., −3 dB points) where the powerdensity is reduced by half as compared to that in the case of

$\theta = \frac{\pi}{2}$

in order to calculate the vertical beam width. In other words, byfinding the value of a that satisfies Equation 50, the vertical beamwidth can be represented as 2α.

$\begin{matrix}{\left| {E\left( {{\frac{\pi}{2} + \alpha},\varphi_{0}} \right)} \right|^{2} = \left. \frac{1}{2} \middle| {E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},\varphi_{0}} \right)} \right|^{2}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 50} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

The result of

$\alpha \approx \frac{1.55}{M}$

can be obtained by applying the approximation to Equation 50. Finally,the vertical beam width of

$\theta_{BW} \approx \frac{3.1}{M}$

can be obtained.

Assuming that the beamforming is performed on the x-y plane, the beampattern can be calculated by substituting

$\theta = \frac{\pi}{2}$

in order to calculate the horizontal beam width (ϕ_(BW)). When

$\theta = \frac{\pi}{2}$

is substituted, the beam pattern |E(θ, ϕ)|² can be represented as shownin Equation 51.

$\begin{matrix}{\left| {E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},\varphi} \right)} \right|^{2} = {\quad\left| {C{\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{M}\; {\frac{{\Sigma_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}\left( {- j} \right)}^{{nM} + m}{J_{{nM} + m}({kR})}e^{{- {j{({{nM} + m})}}}\varphi_{0}}}{{\int_{0}^{\pi}{\Sigma_{s = {- \infty}}^{\infty}{J_{{nM} + m}^{2}\left( {{kR}\; \sin \; \theta} \right)}\mspace{14mu} \sin^{3}\mspace{14mu} \theta \mspace{14mu} d\; \theta}}\ }{\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}\; {j^{{nM} + m}{J_{{nM} + m}({kR})}e^{{j{({{nM} + m})}}\varphi}}}}}} \right|^{2}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 51} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

By applying the Bessel function of Equation 48,

$\lim_{R\rightarrow 0}\left| {E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},\varphi} \right)} \right|^{2}$

can be represented as shown in Equation 52.

$\begin{matrix}{{\lim\limits_{R\rightarrow\infty}\left| {E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},\varphi} \right)} \right|^{2}} = \left| C \middle| {}_{2}{\quad\left| {\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{\lbrack{M\text{/}2}\rbrack}\; \left\{ \left. {{\frac{2}{\sqrt{\pi}}\frac{\Gamma \left( {m + \frac{5}{2}} \right)}{\Gamma \left( {m + \frac{5}{2}} \right)}\cos \mspace{14mu} {m\left( {\varphi - \varphi_{0}} \right)}} + \frac{3}{4}} \right|^{2} \right.} \right.} \right.} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 52} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

When beams are formed in the direction of ϕ=ϕ₀ on the x-y plane, it isnecessary to find the points (i.e., −3 dB points) where the powerdensity is reduced by half as compared to that in the case of ϕ=ϕ₀. Inother words, by finding the value of α that satisfies Equation 53, thehorizontal beam width can be represented as 2α.

$\begin{matrix}{\left| {E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},{\varphi_{0} + \alpha}} \right)} \right|^{2} = \left. \frac{1}{2} \middle| {E\left( {\frac{\pi}{2},\varphi_{0}} \right)} \right|^{2}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 53} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

By applying several approximations to Equation 53, the result of

$a \approx \frac{2.4}{M}$

can be obtained, and thus the horizontal beam width of

$\varphi_{BW} \approx \frac{4.8}{M}$

can also be obtained.

In summary, when the radius of the circular array antenna issufficiently small and the coupling is considered, the vertical beamwidth (θ_(BW)) of the beam pattern is given as

${\theta_{BW} = {\Theta \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{M}} \right)}},$

and the horizontal beam width (ϕ_(BW)) of the beam pattern is given as

$\varphi_{BW} = {{\Theta \left( \frac{1}{M} \right)}.}$

Here,

$\Theta \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{M}} \right)$

means that as M increases, it decreases in proportion to the order of1/√{square root over (M)}, and it can be represented by k/√{square rootover (M)} (where K is a random constant). In addition,

$\Theta \left( \frac{1}{M} \right)$

means that as M increases, it decreases in proportion to the order of1/M, and it can be represented by k/M (where K is a random constant).

As described above, when the antenna spacing is less than half of thewavelength of a transmitted wave (or signal), the vertical andhorizontal beam widths can be summarized as shown in Table 2 withrespect to the following cases: when the radius of the circular arrayantenna is fixed; when the radius of the circular array antenna isextremely small; when the coupling is considered: and when no couplingis considered. In Table 2, R→0 means that the radius of the circulararray antenna is (sufficiently) small and/or that the spacing betweenthe operating antennas of the circular array antenna varies. Inaddition, M indicates the number of antennas.

TABLE 2 Circular arrangement Circular arrangement Circular arrangement(R is fixed) (R → 0) (R → 0) Coupling is not considered Coupling is notconsidered Coupling is considered θ_(BW) (rad)$\Theta \mspace{11mu} \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{R}} \right)$$\frac{\pi}{2}$$\Theta \mspace{11mu} \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{M}} \right)$ ϕ_(BW) (rad)$\Theta \mspace{11mu} \left( \frac{1}{R} \right)$ 2π$\Theta \mspace{11mu} \left( \frac{1}{M} \right)$

Referring to Table 2, when input values are inputted to antennas withdifferent phase differences without consideration of the antennacoupling, the beam width is not affected by the number of antennas. Inthis case, although the number of antennas increases, it does not affectthe beam width. Instead, it can be seen that the beam width is affectedby the magnitude of the radius. On the other hand, when input values areinputted to antennas by considering the coupling, it can be seen thateven though the radius is very small, the beam width decreases as thenumber of antennas increases. That is, when the input values areinputted to the antennas by considering the coupling, it is possible toobtain the same result as that of Table 1, where there is no coupling.Thus, it can be seen that when the circular array antenna has a finiteradius, if the coupling is considered, the beam width can be controlledby using the number of antennas. More specifically, it can be seen thatwhen the circular array antenna has a finite radius, if the coupling isconsidered, it is possible to decrease the beam width by increasing thenumber of antennas. Therefore, when precoders are used to control mutualantenna coupling, efficient beamforming can be achieved.

FIG. 7 illustrates vertical and horizontal beam widths that depend onthe number of antennas. Specifically, FIG. 7(a) shows the comparison ofactual vertical beam widths and approximately calculated beam widthsthat depend on the number of antennas, and FIG. 7 (b) shows thecomparison of actual horizontal beam widths and approximately calculatedbeam widths that depend on the number of antennas.

Referring to FIG. 7(a), it can be seen that as the number of antennasincreases, the approximated beam width is closer to the actual beamwidth, and as the number M of antennas increases, the actual andapproximated beam widths are reduced to 1/√{square root over (M)}.Referring to FIG. 7(b), it can be seen that as the number of antennasincreases, the approximated beam width is closer to the actual beamwidth, and as the number M of antennas increases, the actual andapproximated beam widths are reduced to 1/√{square root over (M)}.Therefore, it can also be seen that the results of Tables 1 and 2 areaccurate.

When a receiver moves in a wireless communication system, the value ofan elevation angle may vary. If a transmitter transmits a signal to thereceiver through beamforming, the transmitter should be able to controlthe beam width by considering the location of the receiver. For example,the transmitter may adjust the beam width such that the receiver covers3 dB vertical beam width and 3 dB horizontal beam width. However, asdescribed above, in the case of the linear array antenna, the beam widthvaries according to the beam direction, whereas in the case of thecircular array antenna, the beam width can be controlled according tothe number of antennas regardless of the beam direction. However,considering that the circular array antenna is somewhat inefficient interms of space arrangement, it is possible to reduce the radius of thecircular array antenna, but in this case, coupling between antennas mayoccur. When the antenna coupling occurs, the beam width cannot bereduced less than a certain threshold. However, this coupling problemcan be solved by using decoupling precoders.

The present invention proposes a method for performing beamforming byusing a circular array antenna with a fixed radius, which is composed ofa predetermined number of antennas. More specifically, the presentinvention proposes a method for adjusting vertical beam width and/orhorizontal beam width when the radius of the circular array antennaincluding the predetermined number of antennas is fixed.

FIG. 8 illustrates a circular array antenna to which the presentinvention is applicable.

Referring to FIG. 8, the circular array antenna may be constructed byarranging N antennas on the x-y plane in the orthogonal coordinatesystem. In this case, the N antennas are arranged in a circularsymmetric manner, and the circular symmetry means that the antennas havethe same central angle. In FIG. 8, when the N antennas are arranged in acircular symmetric manner, the central angle δ has the same value of2π/N. The radius of the circular array antenna can be denoted by R,which may be fixed to a certain value. In addition, N indicates thetotal number of antennas included in the circular array antenna.

According to the present invention, the beam width is adjusted by usingthe circular array antenna such that the number of operating antennasamong entire antennas is determined according to desired beam width,instead of physically changing the circular array antenna, for example,adjusting the magnitude of the radius or eliminating/adding antennas.The number of operating antennas among the entire antennas is denoted byN_(active). That is, N_(active) indicates the number of activated oroperating antennas among the entire antennas. The antenna used forbeamforming among the entire antennas included in the array antennacould be referred to as the operation or activated antenna. Since thenumber of operating antennas used for beamforming is N_(active),N_(active) may correspond to the number M of antennas mentioned in theforegoing description.

According to the present invention, since the radius of the circulararray antenna is fixed but the number of operating antenna can varydepending on the desired beam width, it may correspond to the case ofR→0 in Table 2. Thus, if the spacing between operating antennas is equalto or more than half of the wavelength of a transmitted signal (orwave), the number of operating antennas may be determined according tothe beam width based on the principles described in Table 1. On theother hand, if the spacing between operating antennas is less than halfof the wavelength of a transmitted signal (or wave), the number ofoperating antennas may be determined according to the beam width basedon the principles described in Table 2.

The number of operating antennas (N_(active)) can be determined to beone of the divisors of the total number of antennas (N). For example, inthe case of N=9, N has divisors of 1, 3, and 9, and thus N_(active) canbe determined as one of 1, 3, and 9. As another example, in the case ofN=8, N has divisors of 1, 2, 4, and 8, and thus N_(active) can bedetermined as one of 1, 2, 4, and 8. The transmitter may first determinethe desired beam width and then determine the value of N_(active) byselecting the divisor corresponding to the determined beam width.

As described above with reference to Tables 1 and 2, the relationshipbetween the vertical beam width and the number of antennas can berepresented by

${\theta_{BW} = {\Theta \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{M}} \right)}},$

and the relationship between the horizontal beam width and the number ofantennas can be represented by

$\varphi_{BW} = {{\Theta \left( \frac{1}{M} \right)}.}$

Thus, when the desired vertical beam width is determined, the number ofoperating antennas (N_(active)) may be determined by

$\theta_{BW} = \frac{K\; 1}{\sqrt{N_{active}}}$

(where K1 is a constant). Alternatively, when the desired horizontalbeam width is determined, the number of operating antennas (N_(active))may be determined by

$\varphi_{BW} = \frac{K\; 2}{N_{active}}$

(where K2 is a constant).

When the number of operating antennas (N_(active)) is determined, amongall N antennas, N_(active) antennas may be randomly activated. That is,the number of structures available for the circular array antennacomposed of N_(active) antennas may be

$\begin{pmatrix}N \\N_{active}\end{pmatrix},$

and among them, a random structure may be selected and used. Here,

$\begin{pmatrix}n \\r\end{pmatrix}\quad$

indicates

$\frac{n!}{{\left( {n - r} \right)!}{n!}}.$

Preferably, to minimize coupling between antennas, N_(active) antennasthat are arranged in a circular symmetric manner may be selected fromamong all N antennas. More specifically, when the N antennas arearranged in a circular symmetric manner, if N_(active) is one divisor ofN, the N_(active) antennas are also arranged in a circular symmetricmanner. In this case, the coupling between the operating antennas can beminimized.

FIG. 9 illustrates the antenna structures according to the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 9, the radius of a circular array antenna is set tohalf of the wavelength and the circular array antenna may have a totalof nine antennas. In FIG. 9, the gray circle corresponds to an activatedor operating antenna, and the back circle corresponds to a deactivatedor non-operating antenna. All the nine antennas can be arranged in acircular symmetric manner, and in this case, the central angle betweenthe antennas may be set to 40 degrees.

According to the present invention, the number of activated or operatingantennas (N_(active)) may be determined as one of the divisors of 9.FIG. 9(a) shows that when N_(active) is set to 9, all nine antennas areactivated or operating. FIG. 9(b) shows that when N_(active) is set to3, three antennas are activated or operating. FIG. 9(c) shows that whenN_(active) is set to 1, one antenna is activated or operating. If thenumber of activated antennas (N_(active)) is less than the total numberof antennas (N), operating antennas may be randomly determined, and thusthe arrangement structure of the operating antennas may also be randomlydetermined. However, referring to FIG. 9(b), among the entire antennas,the operating antennas can be determined such that they are arranged ina circular symmetrical pattern, and in this case, coupling between theantennas can be minimized.

Precoder According to the Present Invention

Meanwhile, precoding may be applied to transmitted signals to performbeamforming in a desired direction by using operating antennas.According to the present invention, the precoding may be performed byconsidering coupling between antennas according to the spacing betweenantennas to control the beam width depending on the number of operatingantennas. For example, if the antenna spacing is sufficiently large(e.g., the antenna spacing is more than the wavelength (of a transmittedwave or signal)), the precoding may be performed without considerationof the antenna coupling. On the contrary, if the antenna spacing issufficiently small (e.g., the antenna spacing is less than thewavelength (of a transmitted wave or signal)), the antenna coupling mayoccur, and thus the precoding needs to be performed by considering thecoupling.

When the antenna coupling is not considered, the precoding can beperformed according to Equation 54. In Equation 54, x is a transmittedsignal, z is precoder output, G^(H) is a precoding matrix, and moreparticularly, G^(H) is the complex conjugate transpose matrix of G, andH is a Hermitian operator. In this case, G is a channel vector. Forexample, when the number of operating antennas is N_(active), G may be a(1×N_(active)) channel vector. In this specification, when the couplingis not considered, a precoding matrix or precoder may be referred to asa first precoding matrix or precoder.

Z=G ^(H) x  [Equation 54]

When the antenna coupling is not considered, the precoding matrixaccording to the present invention may be determined according toEquation 55. In Equation 55, ϕ₀ indicates a beamforming direction (e.g.,horizontal beam direction), λ indicates the wavelength of a transmittedwave or signal, and R indicates the radius of the circular arrayantenna.

$\begin{matrix}{{G = \left\lbrack {_{1}\mspace{14mu} _{2}\mspace{14mu} \cdots \mspace{14mu} _{a}} \right\rbrack}{{_{i} = e^{\frac{j\; 2\pi}{\lambda}R\mspace{14mu} {\cos {({\varphi_{0} - \frac{2\pi \; i}{a}})}}}},{1 \leq i \leq a}}{a = N_{active}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 55} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

When the antenna coupling is considered, the precoding can be performedaccording to Equation 56. In Equation 56, x is a transmitted signal, zis precoder output, C⁻¹ G^(H) is a precoding matrix, and C⁻¹ is theinverse matrix of C. In this case, G is a channel vector. For example,when the number of operating antennas is N_(active), G may be a(1×N_(active)) channel vector.

z=(C ⁻¹ G ^(H))x  [Equation 56]

In Equation 56, since C⁻¹G^(H) is the precoder that considers theantenna coupling, it may be referred to as the decoupling precoder. Inaddition, in Equation 56, C is a matrix that indicates the antennacoupling. For example, when the number of operating antennas isN_(active), C may be represented as a (N_(active)×N_(active)) matrix. Inthe decoupling precoder according to the present invention, G may begiven according to Equation 55, and C may be given according to Equation57. In Equation 57, λ indicates the wavelength of a transmitted wave orsignal, and R indicates the radius of the circular array antenna. Inthis specification, when the antenna coupling is considered, a precodingmatrix or precoder may be referred to as a second precoding matrix orprecoder

$\begin{matrix}{\mspace{76mu} {{C = \begin{bmatrix}c_{1} & c_{2} & \ldots & c_{a} \\c_{a} & c_{1} & \ldots & c_{a - 1} \\\vdots & \vdots & \vdots & \vdots \\c_{2} & \ldots & c_{a} & c_{1}\end{bmatrix}}{{c_{i} = {\frac{3}{2}\left( {\frac{\sin \mspace{14mu} d_{i}}{d_{i}} + \frac{\cos \mspace{14mu} d_{i}}{d_{i}^{2}} - \frac{\sin \mspace{14mu} d_{i}}{d_{i}^{3}}} \right)}},{d_{i} = {\frac{4\pi}{\lambda}R\; {\sin \left( \frac{i\; \pi}{a} \right)}}},{1 \leq i \leq a}}\mspace{76mu} {a = N_{active}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 57} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

As shown in Equation 57, the matrix C that presents the antenna couplingcorresponds to a circulant matrix. A circulant matrix means a matrixwhere columns are circularly-shifted to the right (or left) in each row.In Equation 57, C is the circulant matrix where columns arecircularly-shifted to the right in each row.

The circulant matrix can be decomposed of an inverse Fourier transform(or IFFT) matrix, a diagonal matrix, and a Fourier transform (or FFT)matrix. Here, a diagonal matrix means a matrix where the elements exceptthe elements located at the diagonal (or the elements having the samecolumn and row numbers) are all zero. Thus, the circulant matrix Caccording to the present invention can be decomposed of the IFFT matrix,diagonal matrix, and FFT matrix as shown in Equation 58.

$\begin{matrix}{{C = {\left\lbrack W^{(a)} \right\rbrack^{- 1}{{diag}\left( {{\sqrt{a}\left\lbrack W^{(a)} \right\rbrack}^{- 1}c^{T}} \right)}W^{(a)}}}{{w_{uv}^{(a)} = {\frac{1}{\sqrt{a}}e^{- \frac{j\; 2{\pi {({u - 1})}}{({v - 1})}}{a}}}},{1 \leq u \leq a},{1 \leq v \leq a}}{c = \left\lbrack {c_{1}\mspace{14mu} c_{2}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} c_{a}} \right\rbrack}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 58} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In Equation 58, [ ]⁻¹ indicates an inverse matrix, w_(uv) ^((a))indicates the element at the uth row and with column of the matrixW^((a)), T indicates the transpose operator, and diag( ) is a functionfor generating a diagonal matrix by arranging the elements of a vectorat the diagonal of the diagonal matrix. In addition, c is the parameterrequired for controlling coupling between antennas and can be referredto as coupling parameter information or coupling factor information.

When a circulant matrix is used, a diagonal matrix can be obtained bytaking the reciprocal of individual diagonal elements of the inversematrix of C, and an IFFT matrix is the inverse matrix of an FFT matrix,that is, they are in the complex conjugate relationship, whereby theamount of computation can be reduced. For example, Equation 59 shows thecirculant matrix of a 3×3 matrix.

$\begin{matrix}{C = {\begin{bmatrix}4 & 2 & 1 \\1 & 4 & 2 \\2 & 1 & 4\end{bmatrix} = {{\frac{1}{\sqrt{3}}\begin{bmatrix}1 & 1 & 1 \\1 & e^{\frac{j\; 2\pi}{3}} & e^{\frac{j\; 4\pi}{3}} \\1 & e^{\frac{j\; 4\pi}{3}} & e^{\frac{j\; 8\pi}{3}}\end{bmatrix}} \times {\quad{\begin{bmatrix}7 & 0 & 0 \\0 & {\frac{5}{2} + {j\frac{\sqrt{3}}{2}}} & 0 \\0 & 0 & {\frac{5}{2} - {j\frac{\sqrt{3}}{2}}}\end{bmatrix} \times {\frac{1}{\sqrt{3}}\begin{bmatrix}1 & 1 & 1 \\1 & e^{- \frac{j\; 2\pi}{3}} & e^{- \frac{j\; 4\pi}{3}} \\1 & e^{- \frac{j\; 4\pi}{3}} & e^{- \frac{j\; 8\pi}{3}}\end{bmatrix}}}}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 59} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

Compared to the case where the antenna coupling is not considered, whenthe antenna coupling is considered, a transmitted signal mayadditionally go through processes such as Fourier transform (or FFT),diagonal multiplication, and inverse Fourier transform (or FFT).

The output z, which is generated through the precoder, may betransmitted via the circular array antenna. Alternatively, additionalprocessing may be applied to the precoder output z before it is inputtedto the antenna, and then the generated signal may be transmitted via thecircular array antenna.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of the beamforming method according topresent invention. The method illustrated in FIG. 10 can be performed bya communication apparatus with a circular array antenna composed of aplurality of antennas (e.g., dipole antennas). However the presentinvention is not limited thereto, and the method of FIG. 10 can beapplied when a other type of array antennas are used.

In step S1002, the number of operating antennas can be determined toform a specific beam pattern for the communication apparatus. Thespecific beam pattern may be formed such that it covers a specific UEand defined by vertical and horizontal beam widths. As described above,the magnitude of the vertical beam width of the circular array antennamay decrease in proportion to the square root of the number of operatingantennas (see Table 1 and Table 2). Therefore, the number of operatingantennas among the plurality of antennas included in the circular arrayantenna may be determined by using the reciprocal of the square of thevertical beam width of the specific beam pattern. For example, assumingthat the number of operating antennas is N_(active), since the verticalbeam width, θ_(BW) is in the relationship of

$\theta_{BW} = \frac{K\; 1}{\sqrt{N_{active}}}$

(where K1 is a constant), N_(active) can be calculated by dividing aconstant by the square of the vertical beam width. More specifically,N_(active) may be determined to be equal to or less than the valueobtained by dividing the constant by the square of the vertical beamwidth.

Alternatively, the horizontal beam width of the circular array antennamay decrease in proportion to the number of operating antennas (seeTable 1 and Table 2). Thus, the number of operating antennas of thecircular array antenna can be determined by using the reciprocal of thehorizontal beam width of the specific beam pattern. For example,assuming that the number of operating antennas is N_(active), since thevertical beam width is in the relationship of

${\varphi_{BW} = \frac{K\; 2}{N_{active}}},$

N_(active) (where K2 is a constant), N_(active) can be calculated bydividing the constant by the horizontal beam width. More specifically,N_(active) may be determined to be equal to or less than the valueobtained by dividing the constant by the horizontal beam width.

When the number of operating antennas is determined, only either thevertical or horizontal beam width of the specific beam pattern may beconsidered. However, the invention is not limited thereto, and thevertical and horizontal beam widths of the specific beam pattern can besimultaneously considered. In this case, the number of operatingantennas may be determined by using the reciprocal of the square of thevertical beam width and the reciprocal of the horizontal beam width. Forexample, the number N_(active) of operating antennas may be determinedsuch that it is equal to or less than the value obtained by dividing afirst constant by the square of the vertical beam width and equal to orless than the value obtained by dividing a second constant by thehorizontal beam width.

In step S1002, the number of operating antennas may be determined, forexample, as one of the divisors of the total number of antennas includedin the circular array antenna. As described above, the number ofoperating antennas (N_(active)) may be determined as one of the divisorsof the total number of antennas included in the circular array antenna(N). In this case, the communication apparatus may select one divisorfrom among the divisors of the total number of antennas within the rangethat satisfies the vertical beam width and/or horizontal beam width. Forexample, since it is desirable to minimize the vertical beam widthand/or horizontal beam width to reduce interference to another UE, themaximum divisor may be selected from among the divisors of the totalnumber of antennas within the range that satisfies the vertical beamwidth and/or horizontal beam width. The range that satisfies thevertical beam width and/or horizontal beam width may mean the rangewhere the number of operating antennas is equal to or less than thevalue obtained by dividing the first constant by the square of thevertical beam width or equal to or less than the value obtained bydividing the second constant by the horizontal beam width.

In step S1004, at least one antenna can be selected from among theplurality of antennas included in the circular array antenna by usingthe determined number of operating antennas. As described above, amongall N antennas, as many antennas as the number of operating antennas(N_(active)) can be randomly activated. That is, the number ofstructures available for the circular array antenna composed ofN_(active) antennas may be

$\begin{pmatrix}N \\N_{active}\end{pmatrix},$

and among them, a random structure may be selected and used. Here,

$\begin{pmatrix}n \\r\end{pmatrix}\quad$

indicates

$\frac{n!}{{\left( {n - r} \right)!}{n!}}.$

Preferably, to minimize coupling between antennas, N_(active) antennasthat are arranged in a circular symmetric manner may be selected fromamong all N antennas. More specifically, when the N antennas arearranged in a circular symmetric manner, if N_(active) is one divisor ofN, the N_(active) antennas are also arranged in a circular symmetricmanner (see FIG. 9). In this case, the coupling between the operatingantennas can be minimized.

In step S1006, the communication apparatus can transmit a signal via theselected at least one antenna. As described above, precoding may beapplied to the transmitted signal. In this case, the precoding may beperformed based on the number of operating antennas, the horizontaldirection of the specific beam pattern, the radius of the circular arrayantenna, and the wavelength of the transmitted signal. For example, theprecoding may be performed according to Equations 54 to 58. Moreparticularly, if the spacing between the operating antennas is equal toor more than half of the wavelength of the transmitted signal, theprecoding may be performed according to Equations 54 and 55. As anotherexample, if the spacing between the operating antennas is less than halfof the wavelength of the transmitted signal, the precoding may beperformed according to Equations 56 to 58.

When the spacing between the operating antennas is less than half of thewavelength of the transmitted signal, the precoding may include:applying the Fourier transform to the transmitted signal; multiplyingthe Fourier-transformed signal by a diagonal matrix; and applying theFourier transform to the signal multiplied by the diagonal matrix. Inthis case, the Fourier transform may be performed by multiplying aFourier transform (or FFT) matrix, and the inverse Fourier transform maybe performed by multiplying an inverse Fourier transform (or IFFT)matrix. For example, the Fourier transform (or FFT) matrix, diagonalmatrix, and inverse Fourier transform (IFFT) matrix may be given byEquation 58.

Hereinabove, the beamforming method according to the present inventionhas been described by dividing it into the three steps. However, theinvention is not limited thereto. For example, the method according tothe present invention may further include other steps which are notshown in FIG. 10, or it may performed by skipping a specific one amongthe steps shown in FIG. 10. Further, the method according to the presentinvention may be performed by including all technical principlesdescribed in the present specification.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a communication apparatus to which thepresent invention is applicable. For example, the communicationapparatus illustrated in FIG. 11 may correspond to a base station or atransmission point. Or, the communication apparatus illustrated in FIG.11 may correspond to a user equipment.

The communication apparatus 10 may comprise a processor 11, a memory 12,a radio frequency (RF) unit 13, and an array antenna 14. The processor11 may be configured to implement the procedures and/or methods proposedby the present invention. The memory 12 is operatively connected to theprocessor 11 and stores various information associated with an operationof the processor 11. The RF unit 13 is operatively connected to theprocessor 11 and the array antenna 14, and transmits/receives a radiosignal through the array antenna 14. The array antenna 14 may comprise aplurality of (unit) antennas, and at least one of the plurality ofantennas may be designated as an operating antenna.

The embodiments of the present invention described above arecombinations of elements and features of the present invention. Theelements or features may be considered selective unless otherwisementioned. Each element or feature may be practiced without beingcombined with other elements or features. Further, an embodiment of thepresent invention may be constructed by combining parts of the elementsand/or features. Operation orders described in embodiments of thepresent invention may be rearranged. Some constructions of any oneembodiment may be included in another embodiment and may be replacedwith corresponding constructions of another embodiment. It is obvious tothose skilled in the art that claims that are not explicitly cited ineach other in the appended claims may be presented in combination as anembodiment of the present invention or included as a new claim by asubsequent amendment after the application is filed.

Specific operations to be conducted by the base station in the presentinvention may also be conducted by an upper node of the base station asnecessary. In other words, it will be obvious to those skilled in theart that various operations for enabling the base station to communicatewith the terminal in a network composed of several network nodesincluding the base station will be conducted by the base station orother network nodes other than the base station. The term “base station(BS)” may be replaced with a fixed station, Node-B, eNode-B (eNB), or anaccess point as necessary. The term “terminal” may also be replaced witha user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS) or a mobile subscriberstation (MSS) as necessary.

The embodiments of the present invention may be achieved by variousmeans, for example, hardware, firmware, software, or a combinationthereof. In a hardware configuration, an embodiment of the presentinvention may be achieved by one or more application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signalprocessing devices (DSDPs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers,microcontrollers, microprocessors, etc.

In a firmware or software configuration, an embodiment of the presentinvention may be implemented in the form of a module, a procedure, afunction, etc. Software code may be stored in a memory unit and executedby a processor. The memory unit is located at the interior or exteriorof the processor and may transmit and receive data to and from theprocessor via various known means.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, it is intendedthat the present invention cover the modifications and variations ofthis invention provided they come within the scope of the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is applicable to a wireless communicationapparatus such as a user equipment (UE), a base station (BS), atransmission point, etc.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for performing beamforming by using acircular array antenna comprising a plurality of antennas, the methodcomprising: determining a number of operating antennas for a specificbeam pattern; selecting at least one antenna from among the plurality ofantennas by using the determined number of operating antennas; andtransmitting a signal via the selected at least one antenna, whereindetermining the number of operating antennas comprises determining thenumber of operating antennas by using a reciprocal of a square of avertical beam width of the specific beam pattern.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein determining the number of operating antennas furthercomprises determining the number of operating antennas by using areciprocal of a horizontal beam width of the beam pattern.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein the number of operating antennas is determined to beone of divisors of a number of the plurality of antennas included in thecircular array antenna.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the selectedantenna satisfies circular symmetry in the circular array antenna. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the signal comprises:precoding the signal based on the number of operating antennas, ahorizontal direction of the beam pattern, a radius of the circular arrayantenna, and a wavelength of the signal; and transmitting the precodedsignal via the selected antenna.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein, whena spacing between the operating antennas is equal to or more than a halfof the wavelength of the signal, the signal is precoded using thefollowing equations: z = G^(H)x G = [₁  ₂  ⋯  _(a)]${_{i} = e^{\frac{j\; 2\pi}{\lambda}R\mspace{14mu} {\cos {({\varphi_{0} - \frac{2\pi \; i}{a}})}}}},{1 \leq i \leq a},$where x is the signal, z is the precoded signal, a is the number ofoperating antennas, λ is the wavelength of the signal, ϕ₀ is thehorizontal direction of the beam pattern, R is the radius of thecircular array antenna, and G^(H) is a complex conjugate transposematrix of G.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein, when the spacing betweenthe operating antennas is less than the half of the wavelength of thesignal, precoding the signal comprises: performing a Fourier transformon the signal; multiplying the Fourier-transformed signal by a diagonalmatrix; and performing the Fourier transform on the signal multiplied bythe diagonal matrix.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the Fouriertransform is performed by using an a×a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)matrix, and wherein an element w_(uv) ^((a)) at the u-th row and v-thcolumn of the FFT matrix is given by the following equation:${w_{uv}^{(a)} = {\frac{1}{\sqrt{a}}e^{- \frac{j\; 2{\pi {({u - 1})}}{({v - 1})}}{a}}}},{1 \leq u \leq a},{1 \leq v \leq {a.}}$9. The method of claim 8, wherein the diagonal matrix is given by thefollowing equations:diag(√{square root over (α)}[W ^((a))]⁻¹ c ^(T))c=[c ₁ c ₂ . . . C _(α)] where W^((a)) is the FFT matrix, T is atranspose operator, and diag( ) is a function for generating a diagonalmatrix by arranging elements of a vector at diagonal positions of thediagonal matrix.
 10. The method of claim 5, wherein, when the spacingbetween the operating antennas is less than the half of the wavelengthof the signal, the signal is precoded according to the followingequations: z = (C⁻¹G^(H))x${G = {{\left\lbrack {_{1}\mspace{14mu} _{2}\mspace{14mu} \cdots \mspace{14mu} _{a}} \right\rbrack _{i}} = e^{\frac{j\; 2\pi}{\lambda}R\mspace{14mu} {\cos {({\varphi_{0} - \frac{2\pi \; i}{a}})}}}}},{{1 \leq i \leq {aC}} = {{\begin{bmatrix}c_{1} & c_{2} & \ldots & c_{a} \\c_{a} & c_{1} & \ldots & c_{a - 1} \\\vdots & \vdots & \vdots & \vdots \\c_{2} & \ldots & c_{a} & c_{1}\end{bmatrix}c_{i}} = {\frac{3}{2}\left( {\frac{\sin \mspace{14mu} d_{i}}{d_{i}} + \frac{\cos \mspace{14mu} d_{i}}{d_{i}^{2}} - \frac{\sin \mspace{14mu} d_{i}}{d_{i}^{3}}} \right)}}},{d_{i} = {\frac{4\pi}{\lambda}R\; {\sin \left( \frac{i\; \pi}{a} \right)}}},{1 \leq i \leq a},$where x is the signal, z is the precoded signal, a is the number ofoperating antennas, λ is the wavelength of the signal, ϕ₀ is thehorizontal direction of the beam pattern, G^(H) is a complex conjugatetranspose matrix of G, and C⁻¹ is an inverse matrix of C.
 11. Acommunication apparatus for performing beamforming, the communicationapparatus comprising: a circular array antenna comprising a plurality ofantennas; and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to:determine a number of operating antennas corresponding to a beam patternfor the beamforming; select as many antennas as the number of operatingantennas from among the plurality of antenna; transmit a signal via theselected antennas, wherein determining the number of operating antennascomprises determining the number of operating antennas by using areciprocal of a square of a vertical beam width of the beam pattern.